Maniax 22, Bolts 20
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The opening weekend of the XFL had everything Vince McMahon promised: loud music, vulgar language, fireworks, lots of female skin and hard-nosed football. The crowds were healthy and the TV ratings were good.
The question now is whether the idly curious will become fans of this blend of real gridiron action and the scripted plots of McMahon's World Wrestling Federation, which, along with NBC, owns the new league.
Beer in hand, fan Tony Hale enjoyed the show as the Memphis Maniax beat the Birmingham Bolts 22-20 on Sunday. A few feet away from Hale, scantily clad cheerleaders did their best gyrations atop a platform.
"I knew what it was going to be like. I watch wrestling," Hale said. "But it's not wrestling. It's real football."
A crowd of 35,321 showed up in 83,000-seat Legion Field. The number might sound small, but the stadium seemed much fuller because sections of seats were blocked off and a huge TV screen was set up behind one end zone.
Some profanity was broadcast over the stadium speakers in Birmingham. Players wore microphones on the field, and sometimes it really did sound like a locker room.
But people in this Bible Belt city didn't start heading for the exits until the fourth quarter — when Memphis was ahead and driving.
Memphis' Rashaan Salaam scored on runs of 39 and 1 yards, and Marcus Crandell threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Daryl Hobbs. Jeff Hall added a 40-yard field goal.
The action was real enough that there was a quarterback controversy less than 20 minutes into the Bolts' season.
As Birmingham's Casey Weldon struggled through a 10-of-21 first half, fans started chanting for backup Jay Barker, who led Alabama to the 1992 national championship.
As the boos mounted, the camera zoomed in on Barker standing on the sideline in a purple baseball cap. A cheer went up.
DEMONS 15, XTREME 13: At San Francisco, Mike Panasuk kicked a 33-yard field goal with no time left to give the San Francisco Demons a 15-13 victory over the Los Angeles Xtreme as the XFL made its Bay Area debut in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday.
Mike Pawlawski was 31-of-47 for 289 yards and threw two touchdowns passes for the Demons in the first professional football game at Pac Bell Park.
Jose Cortez kicked a 25-yard field goal with less than four minutes to play to give the Xtreme a 13-12 lead, but the Demons marched down the field for the win.
Brian Roberson caught 12 passes for 127 yards, but was nearly the goat when he fumbled the ball late in the game to set up Cortez's field goal.
Pawlawski's 32-yard scoring pass to Calvin Schexnayder early in the fourth quarter erased a 10-6 deficit.
The public address announcer even got into the act, proclaiming "Nice pass, moron," to San Francisco's Tommy Maddox after an incomplete pass.